I do not own Naruto or Venom/Carnage
It stirred in the darkness, shifting in its prison.
It was quiet now.
Chapter: 1 Family life.
Scratching his head and yawning Naruto staggered out of his bedroom. At 13 years old he was a bit over average height. He had short cropped blonde hair that was a bit under an inch long and he had a silver stud in each ear. He was wearing a pair of orange pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt. To top off this impressive display of manliness and charisma a fuzzy black hat in the shape of a snake was perched on top off his head, with the tail draped over one shoulder.
Stopping to stretch he raised his arms over his head. Taking a deep breath he inhaled deeply. He smelled eggs and bacon. Smiling he made his way over to the kitchen for breakfast.
"Morning Gaki" a loud cheerful voice came from behind him.
Naruto turned to greet his sister "Morning Nee-ChaGAAAAAhhhh. Put some clothes on!" Scrambling to cover his eyes Naruto fell on his ass.
Wearing nothing but a bath towel 24 year old Anko Mitarashi sparkled in the morning light. Her beautiful purple hair falling free to her shoulders. She struck a pose for Naruto's sake. "Like It?" She asked. Getting no response she snorted. Smiling at her little brother she sauntered over to his side. She bent down to try to see past his hands.
"Ohhh Are you blushing my little Naruto-Kun" She cooed. Giving the towel a tug she said "Want to see more"
" I am not, and I don't" Still covering his eyes Naruto tried to stand but Anko hooked a leg behind his and pushed him down onto the floor.
Straddling the poor boy she leaned down until she could whisper in his ear. She smelled like strawberries and steel an odd scent but one he had grown accustomed to. Lowering her voice to a sultry purr she spoke into his ear "Hey Naruto, what's for breakfast?" drops of water fell from her still wet hair onto Naruto.
"You do this every Morning! Go ask Mom." Naruto spat out as he tried to squirm away.
"But this is so much more fun" she giggled.
"Let me go" Closing his eyes he used his hands and attempted to push her off. But this morning like so many others he failed spectacularly.
"Not until you say it" She shot back.
"Never"
"Say it"
"Get off me you old hag"
"Wrong answer" Chuckling evilly Anko got an arm around his neck and put him into a headlock. Using her free hand she began to give him a noogie. Still struggling Naruto put up a terrific fight or at least he tried. Unfortunately for him the psychotic kunoichi liked it when her prey struggled.
"Say It"
"No I refuse oww" Naruto whimpered as the pressure on his skull increased.
"Say it"
"Cut that out. OWWW. I said lemme go"
"Say it"
"Never, you crazy ouch"
"Crazy what?"
"Oww oww, hey Cut it out. Fine I'll say it.
"Say what"
"My sister Anko is the most of beautiful girl in Konoha. Oww hey ouch Cut it out I'm saying it aren't I?"
"The most beautiful girl in what?"
"The world?"
Smirking in satisfaction, Anko loosened her grip on the boy a tiny bit,"Keep going"
"And the most talented kunoichi in the whole wide world, and I should be grateful to have such a beautiful and talented sister to keep me company."
"And?" tightening her grip again, Naruto started to struggle, it had suddenly become very hard to breathe.
"And what" gasping he managed to get the words out.
"What's for breakfast"
Gasping for air, he managed to wheeze out "Eggs bacon"
"Thanks little bro" letting him fall onto the floor Anko got up and skipped off to change.
Coughing Naruto managed to get to his feet. Staggering a bit he made his way to the kitchen. Hearing his footsteps Kurenai got up from where she was sitting. Wearing a light blue kimono and an apron, she smiled as soon as she saw her son. Crossing the small room in what appeared to be a single step, she gathered up her son in her arms.
"Good Morning Naruto" she murmured into his hair. This too was part of his morning routine.
"Morning mom" Holding his mother close he let himself relax. As always she smelled of vanilla and cherries. That smell would always relax him, and help him sleep at night.
She held him close for a few moments more before loosening her grip enough to plant a kiss on his forehead. She ran a hand through his hair before finally letting him go. The two sat down at the kitchen table.
Handing him a plate of food Kurenai asked. "I take it Anko's awake now?"
"yeah, she just got out of the shower." reaching for the pitcher Naruto poured himself a glass of juice.
The two ate their breakfast quietly, the only the sounds were the soft clinks of silverware and the odd murmur or two as the two enjoyed their meal.
The quiet was shattered as Anko once again made her debut. Dressed in her usual outfit minus her trench coat she plopped down in her chair.
"Morning Gaki, Kurenai" she yelled out.
Smiling at her exuberant friend Kurenai prepared a plate for her.
"Here you go" She said handing the plate to Anko who took it happily.
"Thanks"
"Do you want some tea" Kurenai asked, as she poured her own cup.
"No Thanks, So Gaki I hear your you dumped that Uchiha brat into a sewer." Anko turned to Naruto a small smirk on her face.
Kurenai turned her piercing red gaze onto her son. Arching an eyebrow she asked, "Is that so?"
Sparing a moment to glare at Anko, who was cheerfully looking away as she ate her breakfast Naruto retorted quickly "umm yeah, but hes such a stuck up asshole!"
"I see, make sure you don't get caught." Turning back to Anko Kurenai turned back to Anko."Anko how did you hear about this?"
"I was at Ichiraku's for some drinks last night and some of the old bats were walking by. You should have heard them going on about the great Uchiha heir. And how the poor poor boy had fallen into a manhole. Hah maybe if he didn't spend so much time with his nose in the air stuff like that wouldn't happen."
"So they don't suspect it was Naruto?"
"Nah they think It was an accident." Turning to Naruto, Anko poked him in the head with her fork. "Hey how did you do it"
Naruto let a small smirk cross his face."I had Choji make sure some of his fan girls would ambush him on his way home from school. He tipped them off to where he'd be. As soon as Sasuke saw them he crossed the street and walked over the paper cover I made, and fell right into the manhole."
"That was very well thought out Naruto. Though if you had kept up on your studies you could have cast a genjutsu on the ground instead." Kurenai reprimanded him.
"Aww Mom, you know I suck at genjutsu,"
"Nevertheless you need to try harder, your Genin exam is tomorrow, and you need to be ready."
"Yes mom." sighing he started eating again. Finishing what was on his plate he got up and served himself seconds. Acting on instinct he barely managed to catch the plate that Anko had thrown at his head.
"Oi serve me some more eggs."
"Anko" Kurenai's tone was sharp.
"right sorry." Smiling sweetly at her little brother Anko finished."Please Naruto?"
Sighing Naruto did as he was asked. Bringing the two plates back to the table he handed one to Anko.
"thanks Naruto" digging into her food Anko finished eating quickly. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she sighed happily. She got up and grabbed her trench coat off its hook by the door.
"That was great, were taking off now Kurenai, well be at the forest of death today" grabbing Naruto by the back of his shirt she dragged him out of his chair. Ignoring his cries of protest she prepared to shunshin (body-flicker) out of the apartment.
"Anko wait" reaching behind her Kurenai grabbed a few items she had prepared earlier. standing up she placed the two bento's in Naruto's hands. She then reached up and took his cap off his head. Ignoring his horrified stare she also placed his first aid kit on top of the bento's. Iruka and Kakashi had given it to him a few years ago when Anko had first started training him. "Anko were eating at Ichiraku's tonight. Make sure you two are back in time to shower and change. Ill see the two of you there at 7:00. Oh and make sure he washes behind his ears."
Anko grinned evilly at Naruto. "you hear that gaki Your Mom says you have to wash my back"
"That's not what she aack" Naruto was cut off as the pair shunshin-ed out of the apartment.
Sitting down again, Kurenai picking up her tea cup and took a long drink. Setting it down she pulled out her notepad and a pen. Opening it up she checked her schedule for today. She had been summoned by the village council for some reason. That was odd the village council was made up entirely of civilians, they tended to stay out of the affairs of ninja. Still it wouldn't do to ignore them.
Also her order was ready to be picked up at the Rising Dragon weapon shop. Lately she and Anko had taken to looting the bodies of fallen enemy ninja for weapons and supplies. It was cheaper than buying new gear and reforging used gear was almost as good. And they were even able to sell some of the excess gear for a profit. If Guy and Anko were a little easier on their gear they wouldn't need to loot as aggressively to provide for Naruto's training.
Luckily Anko was almost too happy in making sure that at the end of her missions, there were enough dead bodies lying around to keep them in the green as far as finances went. Because of this Anko had gained a reputation as a bloodthirsty and callous ninja. She had almost no friends as a result. But none of that mattered to Anko. Anko was just as devoted to Naruto's well being as she was.
oOo
It had happened almost 5 years ago, actually it was exactly 5 years today. Naruto had been 7 years old. It had only been a few months since she and him had moved into their new apartment. She had been a bit worried because she hadn't been able to remember any of his childhood before the park, but she realized it had probably been the stress of losing Ushio that had made her lose her memories. She had made a point of not mentioning it to anybody but Anko, who seemed to understand.
Anko had been over to borrow some perfume for a date, it wasn't the first time she had visited but it was perhaps the first time the two had been alone together in the same room. Naruto had called Anko the pretty onee-chan and she had called him Gaki. By the time she had gotten back with the perfume, Naruto had talked Anko into giving him a soda, and had then left her to deal with an even more hyperactive child. So instead of putting him to bed like usual the two had spent the rest of the night playing games together.
That pleasant night had come to an abrupt halt when Anko came back. It had shocked her when Anko came storming back into their apartment. Her hair and clothing were a mess and she wasn't wearing her shoes anymore. She had rushed into the kitchen and began looking for something to drink. Anko had been furious and had come close to hitting her when she had cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder. Pouring her some sake she had managed to work out that her date had said something that had set her off. But more than that it had opened some scars that Anko had spent her whole life trying to heal. She let her vent and tried to coax more out of her but Anko had clammed up after her initial bout of yelling and screaming. The two had just sat and drank together without saying a word.
After drinking nearly an entire bottle of sake Anko had stormed into the bathroom. She had found Naruto there. He had heard the yelling and was hiding in the bathtub. When he saw Anko he ran into her arms and wouldn't let go. Hearing Naruto's voice Kurenai had rushed to the bathroom as well. By the time she had gotten to the bathroom Anko and Naruto had been sitting in the tub together. Anko was holding the trembling boy in her arms and was singing to him. Kurenai had never even heard her sing before, Anko never even hummed.
When he fell asleep she had taken him to his room and put him in his bed. Even in his sleep he had refused to let her go, so Anko had spent the night with him. The very next day Anko had moved in. And just like that Naruto had a sister. She had adamantly refused to be called Auntie. And her family had grown by one person. They had never spoken of that night again. And they had been living together ever since.
oOo
Ever since Anko had moved in not one of them had ever slept alone. She and Naruto had slept in the same bed fairly often before Anko arrived, but when she moved in the three of them had slept together in the same bed. She had simply shown up that night and gotten on the other side of Naruto.
Before Anko had arrived she had been worried sick about what would happen to Naruto if she ever had to leave him alone. She wasn't blind to the looks of hate and anger that she and her son received on a daily basis.
She hated Minato for choosing to place the Kyubi in her son, but he was dead and gone now. She didn't have time to waste on hating a dead man. She had enough trouble as it was keeping her family safe. At least Anko and Kakashi had been there to help pick up the slack, and the Hokage had been kind enough to stagger their missions so that the three had never all been out of the village at the same time. Iruka and Guy had also helped as often as they could as well.
But if she was going to make it to the council meeting on time, she needed to start getting ready soon. Making her way to the room that served as their closet/armory she rooted around looking for something suitable to wear. After a few moments she decided on the standard ninja garb. Sandals dark pants, a blouse, and her old chunin vest. Gathering up her clothes she headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower.
oOo
"Said." with a crash Naruto found himself face down in the forest of death. Groaning he sat up and looked around. He recognized the area for once. Which meant that today they would be practicing something he already knew.
"Well Gaki here we are get started."Anko said. Pointing at the stack of target dummies she grinned at Naruto.
Walking over to the stack Naruto placed his and Anko's lunches on convenient stump. Opening up his first aid kit, he made a quick inventory to make sure everything was there. Bandages check. Gauze check. Needle & thread Check. anti-venom, antidotes check. Emergency flare check. Panic button check. Satisfied that everything was in order he made his way over to the target dummies. Of course that was a relative term.
The dummies were actually huge cross sections of a tree that Anko had knocked down about a year ago. Nearly 4 feet across and a foot deep they each had a symbol or a number painted on the edges, and a series of concentric circles in the middle. They were a huge pain in the ass to move around and set up. Unfortunately for him Anko was a genius in the motivation department. Hearing a hiss behind him he hurried up and grabbed the first target. Picking it up with a groan of effort he hurried across the clearing with only the occasional fleeting touch of a snakes tongue on his ankle. He knew from past experience that the snakes wouldn't hesitate to bite him if he dawdled. Sparing a glance behind him he groaned. It was the King Cobra the one that liked to nip him if he ever slowed down even the tiniest bit.
Watching her brother run back and forth across the clearing chased by his old friend. Anko juggled a few kunai in the air with one hand. Looks like its time to pick up the pace a little. She thought. Snatching a kunai from the air she threw it at him in a single fluid movement.
"gaahh" the kunai flying past his face told him to hurry up. At least that one missed. Which meant he was moving acceptably fast. Which also meant that she would expect him to start moving faster soon, like right now. Five minutes later a sweat soaked Naruto finally had all the targets set up. Even the ones in the trees. Amazing what a little motivation can do.
Finally getting a chance to slow down his frantically beating heart, he looked up at Anko for further instructions. Grinning sadistically she brought her hands together and made a few signs. With a poof of smoke ten sleek gray pythons appeared at her feet. Tossing Naruto a double holster full of kunai and shuriken she waited for him to buckle it on over his pajamas.
"ready" she called out.
"No" came his sullen reply.
"Alrighty One" she yelled. With a hiss all ten snakes rushed towards Naruto
Grabbing a kunai he quickly flipped it towards the target marked one, while jumping backwards to avoid the fangs of the nearest snake.
"three, square, leaf" calling out targets Anko watched as Naruto did his best to avoid the snakes and pick the targets out of the background. Cackling she started throwing kunai and shuriken at Naruto now. Life is good. She thought as she sent another shuriken spinning towards Naruto's head.
oOo
Elsewhere Kurenai had finished getting ready and was now making her way towards the council building. As she walked down the streets of Konoha, she moved in a small bubble of open space. As if by magic the crowd fell silent and parted to let her through. Though as soon as she was past the muttering increased threefold resembling the angry hiss of a mass of snakes. No that wasn't right she thought I like snakes. In fact no animal she could readily think off treated its own in this way.
"demons whore"
"isn't that"
"yeah she and"
"crazy bitch"
"should have killed"
She brushed aside the insults without a second thought. Soon enough her son would be strong enough to protect himself and she would be free to exact justice. Until then she would bide her time. Indulging herself she savored the hot rush of hate as she looked around the village. She loathed these unwashed masses. They would kill and betray one another at the drop of a hat. They would even sell out their own families for a bottle of wine. Wasn't it one of these worthless peons that had destroyed her family. That worthless piece of filth had been a symptom of this entire diseased group.
Giving herself a mental shake, she reminded herself that not all the villagers were like this. But those were few and far between. She treasured them accordingly, and even went out of her way to make sure they were kept safe. She and Anko had quietly purged a few individuals that had threatened her family and friends over the years.
Was that why she had been summoned? No if they had even suspected her, she would already be in Ibiki's care, or standing in front of the Hokage. Still it nagged to her no end. The summons to the council had been brief and to the point. A date and time, she remembered looking through the envelope again in case she had missed a page somewhere. But she hadn't. Looking up she realized she had already arrived.
The council building was a long low building surrounded by a high wall. The large gates certainly did their best to look intimidating. She had no doubt that any civilian summoned to the council would be suitably cowed by the time he or she arrived before the council.
Walking up to the front desk she signed her name in to the logbook. As soon as she was finished logging in a pasty faced clerk rushed forward to show her to the council. She ignored his comments and his leering gaze with its barely concealed lust and did her best not to shove a kunai somewhere private.
Finally arriving at the doors to the council chamber, she reached out a hand to push open the door and enter. With a gasp the clerk grabbed her hand "you have to wait until they summon you"
Narrowing her eyes at him Kurenai glared pointedly at the clerk then at the hand. "you will let go of me now Boy." placing a slight emphasis on the last word.
The clerk snatched back his hand as if it was burned. Stammering he tried to apologize." I'm sorry ma'am but the council will let you know when they're, Stop! you can't go in there yet" his voice cracking at the end.
But Kurenai had already swept past him and pushed the doors open. The council chamber was a large open space with a high ceiling. The walls were a dirty depressing gray and the floor was an equally drab green. At the far end of the chamber were the 13 council seats. The seats were raised far off the ground behind a large partition forcing anyone who addressed the council to always have to look up at them. In front of the council seats were two desks and a few chairs all empty at the moment. Lining the back of the room were more chairs and desks all equally empty.
Looking around the mostly empty room she noted that only the four main council heads were there, along with a small group of their assorted hangers-on and retainers. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, her instincts told her that there was something was off.
Looking around seemingly scanning the room leisurely, she spotted him in the corner of the room. Making sure her gaze didn't linger she memorized his features. Short black hair, thin frame and pale almost white skin. He was copying a stack of documents but even from here she could sense his chakra, or rather the lack of it. He was hiding it a bit too well, she couldn't sense even the low amount of chakra that even a non ninja would have. Which meant he was a spy, depending on how the meeting went she might have to run him down later and find out who he was reporting to.
Turning her attention back to the council she made her way down the aisle to an empty seat that was set up in the middle of the chamber. They had already recovered from her abrupt entrance, and had already put on their professional faces, calm with just the slightest hint of contempt. As soon as she sat down they began to speak.
"Ms Yuhi do yo know why you have you been summoned" the old one on the left name Utsuro began in an imperious voice.
"Its Mrs Yuhi" she interrupted letting a trace of venom color her tone."And your summons was sadly lacking in information, as to why I'm here I would like to hear that as well."
The fat one next to him picked up the conversation. If she recalled correctly his name was Aoba. "As I'm sure your aware of there have been a rash of incidents at the school where your son." He said the last as though the very word was poison. "Has knowingly and maliciously destroyed property and assaulted the Uchiha heir."
Keeping her tone neutral Kurenai responded. "As I'm sure you are aware I currently have no son."
"What?" This time the speaker was the truly ugly toad like woman Ayeka siting in the center of the four. "Everyone here knows you adopted that little demon spawn, its your responsibility to keep that little thing in line"
"I don't understand, I did try to adopt a child 6 years ago, but my request was denied due to the child in question being recognized as an adult. Thus giving no one the legal right of adoption."
Spitting the words out through gritted teeth, Ayeka continued. "Very well then. Do you deny that you are currently sharing a residence with a Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Yes"
"Would you care to explain that to us Mrs. Yuhi?" the fat one Aoba smoothly interjected before Ayeka could resume her rant.
"I have two room-mates, one Anko Mitarashi, and Naruto Yuhi, there is no Uzumaki in our household."
"Ah of course. We are talking about Naruto Yuhi, not Uzumaki our records appear to have been in error." sparing a glare at one of his aides he continued. "Then as an older role model to Mr. Yuhi we the council would like to see you try and curb some of his more boisterous behavior as a friend. Should these incidents continue we would have no recourse but to take action."
Smiling thinly at the council Kurenai replied. "These are serious matters then, purely out of curiosity what evidence is there against Mr. Yuhi?"
"Excuse me, but we are not here to discuss that with you." Utsuru commented calmly.
"Everyone knows that little parasite did it we don't need any evidence to hang that little monster." Ayeka screeched at Kurenai.
"No evidence, hanging. That is serious." getting up Kurenai addressed the council as a whole. "I'm afraid that I am going to have to discuss this with the Hokage." She made a show of picking up the tape recorder that she had discreetly placed on the table next to her when she had sat down.
"Wait Mrs. Yuhi" Aoba interjected cutting across Ayeka before she could speak again. "My fellow council member spoke out of turn, please forgive her. All of this must have been a misunderstanding. As you so kindly pointed out we were looking for an Uzumaki not a Yuhi." Smiling ingratiatingly at her he pushed Ayeka back into her seat.
"I see, then I shall take my leave" with that she turned around and began making her way towards the door. The boy she had marked earlier, was gone along with his paperwork.
"wait Mrs. Yuhi. The recording."
"Ah how silly of me. Ill make sure you get a copy before the end of the week." she called back over her shoulder before leaving the chamber.
As soon as the doors had closed the council chamber erupted into chaos, as three of the council members began to yell and point fingers. The only one who remained silent was the fourth council member, Gendo the only one who had remained silent throughout the whole exchange. Narrowing his eyes in barely controlled fury he dismissed the rest of the council. With only a small amount of grumbling the rest of the council left leaving him alone.
Reaching into his robes he pulled out a folded and dog-eared photo. Staring at it for a moment he put it away again reluctantly. "Soon" he whispered.
oOo
Smiling calmly Kurenai walked out of the council building. Though outwardly calm, she was seething. Only the awareness that if she let herself lose control and killed everyone around her, she would lose Naruto kept her from acting on her rage. As it was she was barely hanging on to her blood lust. She decided to skip the walk back to her apartment and simply vanished from sight in a swirl of rose petals, startling the people around her.
Arriving outside her home she stepped inside and made her way to their bedroom. Sitting on the bed she grabbed Naruto's pillow and buried her face in it letting his scent calm her. As soon as she was calm she rearranged herself into a meditative pose. Gathering her thoughts she broke down the meeting into separate slices of time.
Examining each in turn she went over the conversations again. When she had told them that Naruto's last name was Yuhi they had been genuinely surprised. But Naruto hadn't been Uzumaki in years. When she found out that someone had changed his name she had gone to the Hokage to have it changed back to Yuhi. The Hokage had been a bit surprised at her demand but had readily agreed to have it changed.
He had even gone further than that and had had Kakashi, then an Anbu captain help her and Naruto move into a new apartment. She knew that the Hokage always kept his word, it was one of the many reasons she trusted him so very much. Still it was troubling, a year ago when Naruto had taken the genin exam for the second time there had been some trouble with his paperwork and his test scores had been lost. Was that why? Even Mizuki the academy director had been unable to help them, and he was a close family friend. She had to talk to Mizuki, but it was the weekend and he spent his weekends training. She would talk to him and the Hokage tomorrow. Which meant she needed to make an appointment, only Naruto and Anko ever barged in on the Hokage.
After a quick lunch she would head over to the Hokage's office and make an appointment, then she would head over to the rising dragon. Assuming nothing went wrong she would have more than enough time to get to Ichiraku's in time.
oOo
"Hey that's mine." Naruto yelled as he tried to keep his lunch out of reach of Anko's chopsticks.
"Were family, were supposed to share." countered Anko as she managed to snag another one of Naruto's fish-sticks.
"Its not sharing if you never give me anything." he exclaimed.
"I give you stuff all the time, I gave you those earrings didn't I?"
"Piercing my ears when I'm asleep doesn't count!"
"It doesn't?"
"No It doesn't."
"Look you can have all my vegetables."
"I don't want your vegetables."
"Your mom said you should eat more vegetables"
"She never said I should eat all of them, I need some protein in my diet!"
"You get enough, who's always eating the meat lovers ramen?"
"That's because you always take the meat out while we eat, if I didn't get the meat lover's Id never even taste meat at Ichiraku's!"
"You're exaggerating" seizing the moment Anlo pushed Naruto off the log they were sitting on, and sat on him. Holding both bento's over her head in triumph. She made a show of finishing off Naruto's fish-sticks. Picking up a carrot in her chopsticks she held it over Naruto's mouth. "Come on Naruto say Ahhhh."
"I'm no- ummph" he was cut off as Anko fed him a carrot. After swallowing the damn thing he glared at her.
Smiling at him up she helped him up. Once he was on his feet she handed him his bento.
"Gee thanks" looking inside he noticed she had left him most of his fish-sticks. "Thanks" he repeated again quietly."
Ruffling his hair playfully Anko leaned back against the log again. After only a moments hesitation Naruto sat down next to her. Leaning on one another the odd pair finished their meal in silence.
oOo
Arriving at the rising dragon Kurenai wrinkled her nose at the lingering smell of smoke. Hurrying her pace a bit she hurried to the shops door. opening the door to the weapon shop she hurried inside. The small bells hanging over the door sang merrily before falling silent again. Oddly the front counter was empty.
"Just a sec" a young feminine voice called out from the back of the shop. Taking a moment to look around Kurenai ran her eyes over the rows of neatly arranged weapons and stacks of armor and gear. Here and there barrels of kunai and shuriken stood next to spools of wire. Soon enough she heard footsteps. Coming from the back was a stack of bundles behind which a head with a distinctive twin bun hairstyle could just be seen.
Stepping forward Kurenai reached for the top of the stack and removed the top few bundles so that the girl could see. "Good Afternoon TenTen" she said as she placed the parcels on the counter.
TenTen's brown eyes widened in delighted surprise. "Kurenai" she exclaimed happily. Placing her bundles on the counter she smiled happily at Kurenai. "Hey were you on mission?"she asked taking in her appearance.
"ah No. I had an errand or two to run and didn't want to get anything else dirty."
"oh" sounding a bit disappointed. TenTen abruptly straightened. "I mean welcome to the Rising Dragon home of all your weapon and armor needs. How can I help you today?"
"Relax TenTen I won't tell your father"
Smiling bashfully TenTen thanked her quietly. Grabbing a handy pad and pen she put on her business face. "So how can I help you today."
"I'm here to pick up our order, number 456-82, and I'm going to be needing two more whetstones, and some oil."
"Sharpening or polishing?"
"both please, and If you don't mind I'm going to take a look around"
"Sure, let me get your order. Its in this pile" looking at the stack of packages, she added "Somewhere."
"Take your time, Ill be looking around" Leaving the girl to her work she went to the back of the store where large bolts of cloth were stacked or mounted on on the walls. To her this was the real treasure of the store and the real reason just so many ANBU shopped here. TenTen's father Hiashi was a very skilled smith, but her mother Rhea was the real genius of the pair.
Hailing from the silk country she had introduced to Konoha a new type of armor. By weaving together silk, metal wire and other materials she had been able to create cloth that was every bit as strong as chain mail at a fraction of the weight. Konoha's chunin vests were made of this cloth. There were also stronger and more expensive weaves available to those who could afford them. Anko's trench coat and clothes and her current battle dress had been special orders here. Smiling ruefully she also had to add Naruto's pants to that category. She had grown tired of mending his clothes every other day. She had given up on his shirts years ago.
"Oi Kurenai here to pick up your things" a deep voice that sounded like gravel sliding down a metal plate broke her from her thoughts.
Turning she gave Hiashi a nod before answering" Yes, I'm also looking over your armor weave. I was thinking of what to get for Naruto."
"I see your problem the boy grows like a weed, pant are easy he grows up not out, we'll just make him some cargo pants with reinforcements on the seams" waving a hand dismissively he stomped over to her side.
Hiashi was a huge man easily a head taller than Kurenai with scarred arms as thick as her waist hanging down almost to his knees. He kept his whole head shaved eyebrows as well and there were dozens of pin sized burn marks on his head and arms. He was wearing pants and a sleeveless shirt with a leather apron over it all. Even smiling he wasn't a handsome man. She had always wondered how such a huge and rough spoken man could have wooed TenTen's demure and elfin mother. Let alone asked her to marry him. But Rhea had told her that Hiashi hadn't asked her to marry him, she had asked him or rather demanded that he ask her.
"how about a jacket" TenTen called from where she was peeking out from behind a stack of spears.
"Stop eavesdropping and get back to work" Hiashi roared at his daughter. With a startled eep TenTen disappeared. Kurenai hid a smile behind the collar of her chunin vest.
"Now where were we" Hiashi rumbled. "jackets not a bad idea but giving that boy more pockets is just asking for more trouble."
"I agree, Hmm how about some wrappings for his chest and forearms?"
Scratching his chin Hiashi eyed the cloth in front of him like it had insulted his mother. "Yeah that will work, Guy and Lee do the same thing."
"That's right they do" remembering something about the two she turned to Hiashi "Remember the green spandex?"
"Don't remind me, if Rhea hadn't threatened to never sell them anything again, they'd still be wearing them. At least they're wearing proper camouflage bottoms now."
"All right get me two sets of arm bindings, and one for the chest, actually you should probably double that."
"right, TenTen I know you're there get Kurenai what she asked for"
"hai" came TenTen's voice from just behind them.
Chuckling a bit the two made their way back to the counter. Sure enough when they got there the wrappings were waiting on the counter for them, along with the rest of her order.
Stepping around to the register Hiashi began to ring up her purchases."Is that all or do you need anything else?"
"Actually do you have any explosive tag paper, I'd like 50 sheets please, and 200 feet of wire."
At the explosive tag remark, TenTen's whole posture perked up. "I'll get that" she exclaimed and ran off toward to the storeroom behind the counter. Or rather she tried to.
Grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and lifting her up off the ground, Hiashi raised her to his eye level. "TenTen what did we talk about?" He rumbled.
"Not to touch anything that can go boom." smiling weakly she tried to look as innocent as possible.
"And"
"Or might go boom?"
"Why?"
"It only happened that one time, and me and Naruto didn't know that it would be so big. And his eyebrows grew back didn't they?"
Sighing Hiashi put her down. "Just get the paper and the wire."
Turning to Kurenai he said. "Sorry about that"
"I understand."
"yeah I guess you do" Laughing he said "Remember when Naruto came in wearing that orange jumpsuit, I thought Rhea was going to have a coronary."
"I remember"
"What ever happened to that thing"
"Anko fed it to her snakes, while he was wearing it"
Laughing the two shared a few more stories while Hiashi rang up her purchases.
oOo
Groaning a freshly bathed and none too happy Naruto collapsed onto a bench at his second most favorite place in the whole wide world.
"Ramen." he wheezed out.
"Oh come on it wasn't that bad was it." Anko cheerfully called out as she took the seat opposite his in what had come to be known as their table.
"What wasn't so bad?" Looking up the two waved or gurgled a hello at the pretty brown haired girl who came to take their order.
Ayame looked down and prodded Naruto with a finger. "Anko what happened to him?"
"The usual."
"Oh hell be fine then, now may I take your orders."
"Get us some drinks, were still waiting on Kurenai."
"Got it your usual is fine right?"
"Hai."
Naruto looked at the wall clock it was still ten till seven. Looking around the restaurant, he saw that the tables were starting to fill up. In the corner the old man who everyone called Harper ran his fingers over his harp playing a soothing melody. As the music began to flow his two daughters Honey and Clover began to sing together. Alternating melodies the two sang two different songs, one loud, one soft. When one sang the other hummed, always in synch. The two sat back to back their black hair mingling, the warm light sending golden highlights dancing through their hair.
He loved their singing, when he was younger he had been lulled to sleep by the trio many times. And they were one of the reasons so many people came to Ichiraku's.
At precisely Seven o'clock Kurenai walked into Ichiraku's wearing her usual red and white battle garb. Taking the seat next to Naruto, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and ruffled his hair.
"Hi Mom."
"Hey sweetie how was your training with your sis"
Sensing Anko's glare on him Naruto opted for the safer option. "It was great we went over target practice and then we spent the rest of day working on my chakra control." If you could call tree walking while snakes and kunai flew at you chakra control he thought miserably.
"Good for you, Thank you Anko."
"No problem. Oi Ayame gangs all here"
Laughing at Anko Ayame brought over a tray. "Here is your ramen Naruto Kurenai. Dango for Anko. And here is your sake, and water for Naruto"
"Ramen" Practically inhaling his first bowl, Naruto finished his first bowl quickly. Ayame took his empty bowl and replaced with another full one. She still had two more on her tray. She had learned a long time ago that Naruto never ate less than four bowls at a single sitting. Placing the other two next to Naruto, She picked up his now empty bowls and walked back to the kitchen.
Finishing his third bowl Naruto looked around. Ichiraku's was fairly full now, there were only a few open tables left at the moment. Ichiraku's had changed a lot since he was kid. It used to be this little stand out by the main gate. Old man Teuchi had somehow turned it into a thriving restaurant not too far from where they lived now.
Spotting Teuchi's grandfatherly figure Naruto jumped up and called him. "Old Man over here."
"Ah Naruto, Kurenai, Anko, my three favorite customers how are you guys doing." Teuchi answered cheerfully, walking over to their table.
"Awesome, I love your ramen."
"Were doing great Pops" Anko called out happily waving her empty sake bottle at Ayame.
"Were doing very well. Thank you for your concern" Kurenai added smiling warmly at their old friend.
Naruto was still looking around at the restaurant. "Hey old man how did this place get so big, I mean it was a little stand just a few years ago."
Sipping her sake Kurenai looked up at Teuchi. "I was curious about that as well, I don't meant to be rude but your stand never seemed to have all that much business. And then you bought this place outright from what Ayame tell us."
"Yeah what's your secret Pops" Anko asked.
"Do you mind if I sit down" Receiving nods all around he joined them at their table. "well it really came down to three things. Thanks to you guys I started to serve more than one kind of food. Two the three of you practically kept me in business by yourselves the first few years. And three." Leaning forward conspiratorially he grinned. "Anbu."
"Anbu?"
"psst hey Anko who's Anbu"
"Sigh"
"Yeah, you know back then I was open 24 hours a day. Turns out I was the only place that was open at night between most of the major ninja installations. The first one to eat here a lot was Kakashi. He would come in here to get a bite to eat, after a while he started bringing his squad here for dinner. Pretty soon all those Anbu fellas started eating here at night. Even the Hokage started to get food delivered from here when he worked nights."
"Yeah I remember those, I was working with Ibiki and he sent out for some food at like 2 in the morning. They came back with some hot food in 10 minutes, they even had dango." Anko said gesturing with her empty skewer.
"Yeah that was a little bit after that. Anyways not too long before that they started to ask if I could cook anything besides ramen. Of course I can I'm a great chef." he said slapping the table for emphasis. "I was already making Dango because of the little princess here"
"Shove it Pop's"Anko said but she was grinning.
"To make a long story short my business was booming. At night anyways. I saved up and was able to buy this place."
"Hey old man this place doesn't open at night, do you still serve Anbu?" asked Naruto.
"Yup still do, at night we close up this floor. But the top floor is open 24 hours a day, but its only for ninja. Sorry Naruto." Teuchi grinned at the blonde haired boy.
"The Genin test is tomorrow, Ill be eating upstairs tomorrow night." Standing up in his chair he pointed straight at Teuchi. Anko and Kurenai looked on proudly.
"Believe It."
oOo
AN: Thanks to my Beta's Whitedragon17 and Psudocode Samurai, without whose help and inspiration this story would never have gotten off the ground. Both are amazing authors and I highly recommend all of their fics. And thanks to all my reviewers.
AAN: If you think I made a mistake or have a suggestion or an idea, Please PM me or leave it in a review.